We are looking at ministry motivations for all who minister but especially for fivefold ministers of the Gospel … And the third motivation we want to look at is that we must understand, as leaders and ministers, that we must have the heart of a servant.

Jesus condemned the self-seeking ambition of the Pharisees who brought attention to their position as leaders. He advocated a different way of thinking entirely by saying, “The greatest among you will be your servant” (Matthew 23:11).

Ministry is not for “getting.” Ministry is for “giving.” If a leader is in the ministry for what it does for him, he is using and abusing ministry. If he is using ministry to fulfill his own needs, it will only be a matter of time until he begins to use the people he is ministering to. And, when a leader begins using authority for his own benefit, it almost always becomes abusive authority.

Serving is giving out of a posture of strength. Jesus served out of an inner strength. He knew who He was, where He was coming from and where He was going. He was totally confident and secure in who He was. A secure minister will serve in any way that is needed because he is secure. Servanthood is not a position, it is a condition and posture of the heart. Leadership is not the brass ring to be grasped, and once you have it you don’t need to serve any more. Serving is the very thing that gives you authority to be a leader. Once you lose your heart to serve, you have given up your right to be in authority.

Our need for security, fulfillment, a sense of accomplishment, success, appreciation, self-value and worth must come from God and our relationship with Him. It cannot come from titles, who we work for, or what we do.

When Jesus washed His disciples’ feet in John 13, He was really saying, “Do you know what I am doing? I am greater than you, but I am willing to serve you.” Jesus wants us to follow His example.

The people God calls and places in leadership do not strive for a leadership position or title. However, once they have that role of authority, they do not back down, but assume the responsibility the Lord places upon them and so fulfill that call on their lives. If a person wants authority, don’t give it to him. If he wants responsibility, give it to him with authority.

God is not looking for people who need authority to feel goos about themselves, rather He is looking for people who feel good about themselves and want to help others in the Name of Jesus.

Godly leadership is not something to be grasped, but once it is given, it is not to be taken lightly. Moses did not strive to lead the children of Israel. In fact, he tried a number of times to get out of it citing numerous excuses to the point where God was upset with him. Many of us have done the same. Many try to convince Jesus that He is asking the wrong thing of the wrong person. Eventually you must learn to accept the things that the Lord is asking you to do, even though they may be stretching you. Then you will find that the pressure of that ministry or task will drive you closer to the Lord. When you are asked to do something that is beyond your natural capabilities or level of expertise, it causes us to pray more, spend more time at the feet of Jesus listening to His instructions. Ministry draws us to the Lord because we realize that without Him, we would have absolutely no ministry.

More on this point tomorrow…

To minister with the right motivation we discovered that we need to understand that it is the Holy Spirit ministering in and through us. Without the power of the Holy Spirit at work in our lives our efforts at ministry will be done in the flesh and thus ineffective. So, we need a clear understanding of grace, God’s grace, if we are to minister supernaturally by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Remember the grape-picking labourers in Matthew 20? They complained and wondered why everyone got paid the same for varying hours of labour because they didn’t understand the grace of God. If we question why God gives some people greater talents and abilities than others, we have not understood the grace of God. If we think we are a better worship leader than someone else or a better teacher than someone, we are falling short of God’s grace.

It is so important to refrain from comparing ourselves with others. We should only compare ourselves with the Word of God and allow the Word to dwell in us so we can live out the principles of grace in our lives. If we feel like we are doing better than others, we fall into pride. If we feel like we are doing worse than those around us, we can suffer from feelings of inferiority. When we compare ourselves to others, we are not wise, according to 2 Corinthians 10:12. Neither pride nor inferiority are grace-filled responses.

When God uses some else for a certain ministry or responsibility and we are not called into action, how do we respond? When we begin to compare ourselves to other people, we are falling short of the grace of God. God is God. He knows best what we need. He may give somebody one gift and another a different type of gift. Understanding and walking in the grace of God we have received will permeate our total being and way of thinking. It changes our attitudes, causing us to want to grow spiritually so that we can help and serve those around us with the grace and gifts that He has blessed us with.

Jesus clearly told the disciples in John 14:10 that it is “…the Father, living in Me, who is doing His work.” When great things happen, it is the power of God working through us!

Jesus also said in Mark 16:17, that the miraculous will follow those who believe. I used to think that He was speaking to those who believed in the miraculous, and that is partially true.

However, I also believe that what Jesus was implying here is referenced back to John 14:10. When great things happen in ministry, it is because the Father is doing the works through us. We can never take the credit for what God does. We are totally dependent on the Lord living in us to do anything.

There is safety and freedom in realizing that it is God doing the work and not ourselves. Think of it – if we do not take the credit when Jesus moves powerfully and changes a person’s life, then we do not have to take the blame when nothing happens! That relieves all the pressure of ministry. I don’t have to try and make something happen. If the Father isn’t doing anything, I don’t need to do anything. Sometimes we put so much pressure on ourselves. Christians are to enjoy life, to live it “abundantly” as Jesus said. If I am under pressure to perform in ministry, most of the fun of ministry is removed. After awhile, I will become a slave to the ministry by always trying to make something happen. True ministry is allowing the Holy Spirit to move through us.

As fivefold ministers, part of our ministry description is to create an atmosphere where the Holy Spirit can work or prepare people’s hearts so that He can move freely in their lives, raising their expectations, desires, and level of faith to the place where they are open and expecting to see God move. Only an insecure individual will try to draw people and ministry to themselves. Our goal as fivefold ministers should be to point people to Jesus, assisting Him in ministering to them. If the Lord can minister what He needs to minister to an individual without me, so much the better. People may forget what I tel them, but they are prone to remember what the Lord speaks to their hearts.

The number one motivation in ministry is to point people to Jesus so that He gets the credit for all the good that happens. Obviously, God uses people and as a fivefold minister, it is truly a privilege and blessing to be used by the Lord in people’s lives. All in all, my excitement comes not from the fact that I am the one ministering, but that the Lord is ministering to them through me. All by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Fivefold ministers love Jesus and see others through the filter of His love. Simply said, fivefold ministers are deeply in love with Jesus. They know deep inside that Jesus loves them passionately and unconditionally and extends His lavish love to others.

People feel comfortable around godly fivefold ministers because they are able to relate to people from all walks of life. For example, a young man was in a service where I was ministering. He had a very strange haircut, many facial piercings, and dressed differently than anyone else in the service. After the service, I talked with him at length showing genuine love and concern. I seem to be drawn to people who are somewhat weird and different. I like to say “hi” to them whether in a service or on the street. And, I have found that almost with our excepting, people are all pretty much the same. They all have fears, hurts, needs, and are longing for someone to accept them just as they are.

Within weeks of that service this young man moved from that city to my city and joined our church. He was amazed that I could look past his dress code and piercings and that I had treated him like a normal human being. He was amazed that I could show him that he was valuable to God and to me and that I looked him in the eye throughout our limited time and conversation together. I am convinced that many people with their outrageous dress code or behaviour are really just saying, “Please notice me.” One of the worse things we can do is ignore them. Jesus would never ignore them – He would love on them. So should we as fivefold ministers representing the ministry of Jesus in the church and in the world today. Fivefold ministers let people know that we care about them and that Jesus loves them unconditionally.

And last but not least… A fivefold minister has endurance. A fivefold minister sees the big picture and does not give up easily when the going gets tough. Hebrews 12:1 states, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.”

The Christian life is to be run in such a way as to get the prize. “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it” (1 Corinthians 9:24). A fivefold minister stays in the race and does not get sidelined by problems that life or ministry throws at him. One of the greatest acts of spiritual warfare is to not quit, but to keep pressing on to the end.